[Release] Alien Resurrection

[Puritan]

Well guys, here it is 


The sequel to Nostromo is now ready for your amusement!
This time Duke has to board the military vessel USM Auriga to kick some alien asses.
Don't waste your time. Don't waste your ammo.


Alien Resurrection.

[MSandt]

Cool dude, I'll play it once the sun comes down.

[MSandt]

Found a progress-killing bug. The elevator exit that takes you back to the first segment is locked. It has a lotag of 73 and after some searching I found the corresponding switch to be in the reactor control room. However, you don't have to hit the switch to leave the area. This is what I did, because when I noticed those stairs near the control room, I decided to "check my back" first before hitting the switch, expecting maybe an explosion or something that'd force me to move fast. However, next thing I know I'm at the bottom of a vent unable to get back and yet the station is behaving as if I had just hit the switch, which I didn't do.

So, I'd simply block the vent entrance unless the player has hit the control room switch. Also, this sequence could be more dramatic. For example, wouldn't it be cool if the reactor room lit up in red or something?

[Forge]

I did the "check my back" before hitting the switch also, but I noticed that I was going to fall down a vent shaft and I stopped before doing so. I didn't know what the switch was supposed to do, but I went back and hit it anyway before I proceeded down the bottom of the vent.

[Merlijn]

Played it - overall I liked it very much. A worthy sequel to Nostromo.

Things I really liked:
-The docking bay looks awesome and I loved the jumping puzzle presented here, it felt natural and was a nice way to open the map.
-As soon as the whole place starts to fall apart the map gets a nice sense of urgency, the collapsing hallways presented a nice challenge (I got crushed by a ceiling once when I ran the wrong way).
-Design is unique (I haven't seen any space levels like this, except Nostromo of course) and mostly very good. Those hallways do indeed come pretty close to the desing of the movie, which is very cool.
-I also liked the limited amount of weaponry here. I'm so used to rely on the shotgun, not having it until the very end was a refreshing change of pace. Also, overall the firefights were well staged.

Things that, in my opinion, could have been better:
-atmosphere in the beginning could have been more tense and use more ambient sounds.. Of course, there's nothing wrong with having a quiet introduction.. But maybe it was a bit too quiet. 
-the last battle wasn't really my cup of tea, I ran out of bullets because I also wasted a lot of ammo on the sentry drones and the newbeasts.. I guess I should just ignore the weaker enemies if I want to beat the Queen? Some more powerups and health kits around the area would have been nice, since the Queen eats away a lot of your health with those damn electro shocks..

I hit that switch as soon as I saw it, so I never got stuck.
Overall a very good map, gave it 4 stars. 

[Forge]

If you wait long enough, the exit gate will open, so killing the boss isn't a necessity to beat the level. There's also several places to hide until the gate opens, and where the queen won't see you and shock you.

"I hit that switch as soon as I saw it, so I never got stuck. "

There are actually several instances where you can get stuck or get where you're not supposed to. During discussion the theory was most people will hit the switch (or go for whatever is put in front of them) instinctively or out of habit, and avoid getting stuck without even realizing it. Then you have people like me and Mikko that do things out of the norm. I know it's only been a short time since its release, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the other quirks that can be found in this map.

[Merlijn]

If you wait long enough, the exit gate will open, so killing the boss isn't a necessity to beat the level. There's also several places to hide until the gate opens, and where the queen won't see you and shock you.

I know, but Duke wouldn't pussy out like that. 
Anyway, I still had a savegame right before the boss battle. Just tried again and this time I managed to kill the boss without any cheats. You're still pretty much fucked if you waste too much ammo on the sentry drones or the newbeasts, but it's not as hard as I thought.

[Forge]

If you wait long enough, the exit gate will open, so killing the boss isn't a necessity to beat the level. There's also several places to hide until the gate opens, and where the queen won't see you and shock you.

I know, but Duke wouldn't pussy out like that. 

lol

yea, you're only given so much ammo. If you use it up or are a bad shot, then you're stuck having to wait for the gate.

Even when I tested the map, I sat around waiting for the gate to open (making sure it worked), then I went and killed the queen anyway.

[Forge]

So is Duke officially dead now?

30 downloads and comments from seven people (including myself) here & @ Duke4

[Loke]

Yeah, shocked at the lackluster response over at Duke4.

[High Treason]

Meh, Duke4 is a bit of a dump now in my opinion, I rarely post over there and I get the impression I am not liked by some people anyway. I'm a scent88 guy now.

I knew I'd forgotten to do something, you will be adding another to your download counter shortly as I meant to download this and got side-tracked with other things, I will be trying it out and letting you know what I think.

[Merlijn]

I'll post something in the Duke4 topic to get it back on top, maybe it will gain some more interest..

[Forge]

I blame this all on the disappearance of MSDN. If Mikko doesn't give his seal of approval then everyone shuns it like it has leprosy.

This is all your fault Sandt! I warned you about putting all your eggs in one basket, or in this case, one server. 


j/k nobody has a sense of humor

[Micky C]

I started playing it, then I got squished in some corridors and had forgotten to save as I went along, and I haven't had the time to start again. From what I did play, I agree with Eddy in that it could have used some more action near the start. Although the starting area was quite impressive, and I loved how you had to climb your way up to the corridors. As for the corridors themselves, a lot of them looked very similar and I got lost very easily. I normally like my maps to be more straightforward.

Oh, and I found those areas that 'look like you can squeeze though but actually can't' very annoying 

[Forge]

Everyone has their own tastes. Some of the things people didn't like are what I did like.

The slow start: Could baddies have been put in from start to finish? Yes, but then it'd be no different from the hundreds of other maps out there. Could something have been done to increase the tension before the actual encounters started? Probably, but then it becomes cliche. I think the "too quiet" worked just as well.

All those side corridors and areas that can be seen, but not entered: Gives the map depth and helps remove the perception that the player is walking down a linear hallway; which is basically what's happening. It's not like those side passages disappeared in the distance leading the player on an extended hike to find out they were dead ends; the back ends could be seen from the intersections. Could the "gaps" that could be looked through, but not passed through have been smaller and made more obvious that the player wasn't supposed to go through them? Probably. Was it necessary to reduce their size and did it affect anything? Not really.

Could more supplies been put at the end? Yes, but the map is designed that the player is supposed to be conservative with their equipment. They're given what's at hand to kill the boss, and if they fail, then they can escape out the gate. It's also about situational awareness; the player should realize that they're only holding X number of rounds when they see a boss accompanied by some cronies coming after them. This just happens to be my style though; I throw everything I have at a boss and ignore all the other baddies in the area, other than avoiding them. 

All the hallways look alike and it's not easy to get the hell out of Dodge when everything starts collapsing: Situational awareness. I followed the cycling lights on the floor and had no problems.

Things I didn't like: The player can get stuck in multiple instances. The map can be speedran. The sentry drone right behind the door. When the action did start only one, maybe two, baddies attacked at a time. Could have been one or two more, but that's a double edged sword considering the majority of the map took place in corridors. It's possible that either the player gets boxed in and shredded, or the baddies line up in a neat little row to get mowed down with ease.